EU: Trade unions renew call for end to 48-hour-week opt-out

In response to a European Commission consultation exercise on reviewing the Working Time Directive, the European Trade Union Confederation stated in June 2010 that it opposes any revision of the Directive that does not end the opt-out from the 48-hour maximum week and treat all "on-call time" at the workplace as working time.

Long-running attempts to revise the Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC) collapsed in April 2009, with the Council of the EU and the European Parliament unable to agree on a number of issues, notably the future of the "opt-out" - the option for member states not to apply the Directive's maximum average weekly working time of 48 hours if individual workers agree.